The Centennial
Former namesUnion Commerce Bank Building
Location925 Euclid Avenue Cleveland, Ohio 44115 United States
Floor count21
Construction start date1921
Completion date1924
Roof88.09 m (289 ft)
Floor areaover 1,000,000 sq. ft.
ArchitectGraham, Anderson, Probst & White
Cost12.234 Million

The Centennial,[1] formerly The 925 Building,[2] Huntington Building, Union Commerce Building, originally the Union Trust Building, is a high-rise office building on Euclid Avenue in the Nine-Twelve District of downtown Cleveland, Ohio, USA. When the building was completed in 1924, it was the second largest building in the world in terms of floor space, with more than 30 acres (12 hectares) of floor space.[3] It also included the world's largest bank lobby, which today remains among the largest in the world. The lobby features enormous marble Corinthian columns, barrel vaulted ceilings, and colorful murals by Jules Guerin.

Design and history

The 289 foot (88 meters)[4] tall building was designed by the firm of Graham, Anderson, Probst & White, who were also responsible for the design of the Terminal Tower. It was renovated in 1975 under the direction of Cleveland architect Peter van Dijk, and again by Hines Properties in 1991. In June 2010 it was purchased for $18.5 million by Optima International,[5] a Miami-based real estate investment firm led by Chaim Schochet and 2/3rd owned by the Privat Group, one of Ukraine's largest business and banking groups.[6] Originally contemplating closing the building due to a very high vacancy rate,[7] Chaim Chochet and Chip Marous proposed in September 2014 a $231 million renovation of the building into a mixed-used facility combining offices, apartments, condominiums and a boutique hotel.[8] In June 2015, Terry Coyne, a commercial real estate broker from Newmark, negotiated the sale to Hudson Holdings LLC for $22 million.[9] Hudson began a $280 million renovation of the building which will feature 550 apartments, a 300-room, high-end hotel, 200,000 square feet of retail, a banquet hall, conference space, and a lobby open to the public.[10]

Huntington Bank moved its regional headquarters to 200 Public Square from the Huntington Bank Building in September 2011.[11]

On May 4, 2018, Hudson sold the property to Cleveland-based The Millennia Companies.[12] Millennia announced in November 2018 that project would henceforth be known as The Centennial,[1] and that the company would spend roughly $270 million renovating the structure.[13] By May 2021 plans for The Centennial changed from luxury to affordable housing.[14]

Huntington Bank vacated the remaining banking branch on December 1, 2023, ending the building's use as a bank after 99 years.[15]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Millennia Cos. has a name for its $270 million renovation project in downtown Cleveland: The Centennial". Crain's Cleveland Business. November 27, 2018. Archived December 7, 2022 at the Wayback Machine.
  2. ^ Dixon, Teresa (June 16, 2015). "New owner of Huntington Building plans to convert it to apartments, restaurants, clubs (photos)". cleveland.com. Archived December 8, 2022 at the Wayback Machine.
  3. ^ Johannesen, Eric. Cleveland Architecture 1876-1976, Western Reserve Historical Society, 1979. ISBN 978-0-911704-21-1
  4. ^ "Huntington Bank Building, Cleveland". 2005-01-20. Archived from the original on January 20, 2005. Retrieved 2023-04-29.
  5. ^ Jarboe, Michelle (June 23, 2010). "Miami investor buys Cleveland's Huntington Building for bargain price". The Plain Dealer. Archived August 30, 2022 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved June 23, 2010.
  6. ^ Jarboe, Michelle (2012-02-05). "The most important guy you've never heard of: Chaim Schochet, 25, builds downtown Cleveland empire". Cleveland Plain Dealer. Archived March 22, 2022 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved February 4, 2012.
  7. ^ "Owner may close former Huntington Building if county locates HQ elsewhere". Crain's Cleveland Business. 2013-01-21. Archived March 26, 2022 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved January 21, 2013.
  8. ^ Bullard, Stan (2014-09-08). "Former Huntington Building would be revamped as mixed-use development in $231 million project". Crain's Cleveland Business. Archived November 7, 2017 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved September 9, 2014.
  9. ^ Bullard, Stan (2015-06-15). "Former Huntington Building to undergo $280 million transformation into mixed-use property". Crain's Cleveland Business. Archived June 13, 2021 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved June 16, 2015.
  10. ^ Wolff, Carlo (August 3, 2015). "Florida developer banking on Huntington Building rebirth". Cleveland Jewish News. Archived July 30, 2020 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved August 3, 2015.
  11. ^ Perkins, Olivera (June 3, 2011). "New sign on Public Square: Huntington Bank regional headquarters". The Plain Dealer. Retrieved October 16, 2011.
  12. ^ Jarboe, Michelle (May 4, 2018). "Millennia buys downtown Cleveland's near-vacant 925 Building in $40 million deal". The Plain Dealer. Archived from the original on May 5, 2018. Retrieved May 5, 2018.
  13. ^ Bullard, Stan (November 27, 2018). "Millennia Cos. has a name for its $270 million renovation project in downtown Cleveland: The Centennial". Crain's Cleveland Business. Archived December 7, 2022 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved November 29, 2018.
  14. ^ Picciano, Jen (May 6, 2021). "The Centennial project promises affordable housing to help recruit workers back to downtown Cleveland". cleveland19.com. Archived October 17, 2022 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2022-07-21.
  15. ^ McDonnell, Sean. "More than 150 bank branches have closed in Greater Cleveland since 2020: See the list". cleveland.com. Retrieved 23 September 2025.